The invention relates to mechanisms for lifting storage containers onto transport vehicles for delivery from one location to another, primarily in the mobile storage industry. Known mechanisms include those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,071,062 and 6,155,770 to PODS, Inc. of Clearwater, Fla., and U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,074,004, 7,241,100, 7,264,437 and 7,270,511 to Pak-Rat Mini-Movers, LLC of Wake Forest, N.C.
In certain known mechanisms, the load begins to sway as the container is suspended with chains from a structure on wheels that surrounds the container and which is propelled via a mounted gas engine that travels with the structure and hydraulically drives each wheel of the structure. The structure is wide, causing the wheels to be wider than the truck by as much as a couple of feet on each side of the container, thus the structure cannot move up driveways that are landscaped along its edges or along narrow passages. This lift has overhead clearance problems with power lines, etc. The lift cannot travel on steep slopes. The lift is heavy, expensive, cumbersome and slow.
Other known mechanisms utilize very long cantilever fork lift arms, which makes the equipment very heavy.
In still further mechanisms heavy, high maintenance triple acting hydraulic cylinders are used to push-pull a carriage horizontally. The lift employs cantilever arms that come alongside the container as the lift moves to the rear of the truck. These arms however rotate at a pivot point on the carriage downward to attach chains to the container's bottom edge. Once attached, the arms rotate upward to lift the container. These arms have a cylinder on their end to tilt the container to keep it level.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a container transfer system for uploading and downloading containers relative to a transport vehicle which are simpler in construction, less expensive and more reliable, and which allows the containers to be a full 8′ in width.
It is also an object of this invention to provide a mating storage container that cooperates with the container transfer system.
These and other objects are achieved with a transfer system that employs a unique interconnection apparatus that avoids use of long cantilever arms that must be extended to the sides of containers, thus enabling the container to be constructed to have a full 8′ width and still be positionable on the bed of the transport vehicle.
Further features and advantages of the invention will become clear from a review of the accompanying drawings, taken in conjunction with the following discussion.